Friday, August 19, 2011

Moderate alcohol use may reduce dementia, cognitive damage: study

About to uncork that bottle of merlot? A study finds that moderate drinking may decrease the risk of dementia and cognitive decline in older people.

Researchers analyzed 143 studies that looked at the association between moderate alcohol consumption and mental abilities. The meta-analysis, published this month in the journal Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, looked at research dating back to 1977.

Studies done between 1977 and 1997 mostly focused on younger people ages 18 to 54 and for the most part sought to determine whether moderate drinking had any damaging effects; Overall it didn't, said Michael Collins, the study's co-author and professor in the department of molecular pharmacology and therapeutics at Loyola University Chicago, Stritch School of Medicine.

Later studies from 1998 to the present focused more on mental status tests examining memory and cognitive function among mostly older people, he added, and most showed that drinking moderate levels of alcohol showed no effect or a decreased risk of dementia and cognitive impairment compared to control groups.

Among the studies surveyed, researchers found that this link was seen in 14 out of 19 countries, including the U.S.

Overall, those who drank moderately were 23% less apt to acquire dementia or other forms of Alzheimer's disease, or to develop some cognitive damage.

Heavy drinking, on the other hand, was linked with slightly higher risk of dementia and cognitive impairment that was not statistically significant. Heavy drinking was defined as having more than three to five drinks a day, and moderate drinking as one drink a day for women, two for men.